Phillips showed Isaacs into a very similar
room across the hall and two doors down.
Isaacs looked in the door with scarcely
concealed disinterest. He turned to address the older man.
“I know it’s been a long afternoon, but there
are a few points I would very much like to clarify. Could you
possibly spare me some time now?”
“Of course,” nodded Phillips with a hint of a
smile. “I thought you might ask. Come,” he said, gesturing down the
hallway with his right hand as his left touched Isaacs’ arm in
invitation. “Let’s go down to my office. We can be more comfortable
there.”
They retraced their steps down the hall and
descended the stairs by which they had come up earlier in the
afternoon. Phillips led the way to the end of the lower corridor
and into the office that served the dormitory supervisor during
term. A bay window looked out over a well-kept green lawn. Phillips
crossed the room to a cabinet nestled among long rows of
bookshelves.
“Would you have some sherry?”
“Why, yes, please ... I would,” Isaacs
replied.
“I hope you don’t mind cream sherry. I
developed a taste for it as a youth.”
“That would be fine.”
Phillips extracted a decanter and two small
cut-crystal glasses from the cabinet and set them on the desk. He
poured carefully and handed one glass to Isaacs. They toasted one
another in quiet salute, then Phillips moved a chair up along the
edge of the desk for Isaacs so the expanse of the desk would not
discourage intimacy. Phillips sat in the nicely upholstered chair
behind the desk and watched as Isaacs seated himself.
Isaacs followed Phillips’ motions as the
physicist took a sip of the sherry, rolled it on his tongue and
then swallowed. Isaacs felt too drained for preambles. “May I ask
what your reaction is to Runyan’s proposal?” he inquired. “It’s so
outrageous. Can he be serious? Surely there must be a more
reasonable explanation.”
“My instincts are the same as yours,”
Phillips replied. “I feel we need to seek some explanation in terms
of more, shall we say, acceptable happenstances. But recall that
it’s the nature of the data Dr. Danielson has presented that boxes
us in. Make no mistake; Alex is most serious.”
Phillips pondered for a moment, then
continued. “Yes, we must pursue any reasonable alternatives, but
that includes Runyan’s proposal. Outrageous or not, it’s the only
one that has been advanced that fits the facts as we know them.
Perhaps with an evening to relax and think things over, someone
will turn up other alternatives. Just now I believe the appropriate
response is to adopt Dr. Runyan’s proposal as a working ‘worst
case’ hypothesis and lay out the appropriate course of action.”
Phillips placed a palm on each knee and
continued to address the younger man.
“May I put the situation in perspective as I
see it?”
“By all means.”
“There’s currently no indication that the
signal you report has any connection with a hostile country.”
“That’s correct.”
“Or a friendly one for that matter,” Phillips
continued. “We may, of course, find that we’re dealing with some
heretofore unknown seismic phenomena with a few startling
coincidences thrown in. In such a case, the whole problem will be
dropped from our agenda, although not, I daresay, from Ellison
Gantt’s. If Runyan’s proposal is correct, then the issue is most
serious, even though it doesn’t involve what would normally be
thought of as hostile activity. At the risk of sounding
melodramatic, the security of our nation, indeed of the entire
world, would be very much in jeopardy.”
“The problem, if I understand it,” stated
Isaacs, “is that if there is a black hole down there, it is
actually slowly eating away the Earth. Good lord, what a
thought!”
“Quite right. And putting a stop to it will
be a most formidable, if not outright impossible, task.”
Isaacs stared out the window, trying to
imagine Drefke’s response to this. And McMasters. Maybe the old
bastard would have a heart attack. How in the world did one
approach the President with such an idea? Phillips, sensing his
preoccupation, inquired, “I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with the
Central Intelligence Agency before, as you know, but procedures
have a way of changing. Perhaps you could refresh my memory as to
the way a situation such as this is handled?”
Isaacs averted his gaze from the window.
“There’s never been a situation like this,” he grinned ruefully.
“But of course you’re right, there are certain procedures.” He
straightened perceptibly in his chair. “As head of the Office of
Scientific Intelligence, my first responsibility will be to draw up
a summary of our discussions here for the Deputy Director of
Intelligence.”
“Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr.
McMasters,” said Phillips.
“I see.”
Phillips noted the look of stiffness that
passed over Isaacs’ face.
“You’re probably aware, then, that the DDI
has control over the intelligence that is passed up to the Director
for consideration by the National Security Council. For most
problems we have the ‘in-house’ expertise to give the DDI a
complete and self-contained summary. If Runyan is right, we’ll be
dealing with an area that is not entirely in our venue. Once the
situation is well-defined, we can analyze its impact on the
geopolitical situation, but we will undoubtedly need to continue
consultation with your group until we have a thorough understanding
of the problem. In the early stages, a close working relationship
with key individuals in Jason will probably be necessary. When the
time comes to present our recommendation to the DDI, you or some
individual you designate should be prepared to act as technical
consultant.”
“I presume you’ll apprise Mr. McMasters of
the present situation on your return to Washington.”
“That’s correct.”
“But a formal report is also necessary?”
“Yes, the DDI requires a formal presentation
prior to his report to the Director. The Director then prepares an
agenda for the NSC. The Director often takes the DDI, and sometimes
me, along to the NSC meetings to make detailed presentations if
they seem necessary. In a case like the present one, I can envisage
your delegate attending any or all of these discussions.”
“The real expertise to deal with this problem
may not lie within Jason as it’s presently constituted,” Phillips
noted.
“In what sense?”
“If we are dealing with a black hole, we have
no one who is professionally acquainted with the intricacies of the
subject.”
“Not Runyan, then? I did want to ask about
his qualifications. Minnesota doesn’t really have the reputation of
some of the universities represented here, does it?”
Phillips held up an admonishing hand. “Be
careful about the prestige game. Good people are where you find
them. In any case, Alex was a colleague of Gantt’s at Caltech. He
likes the outdoors though, an avid cross-country skier, if I
remember correctly. Also, I believe his wife has a nice position at
Honeywell.”
“But he’s not an expert on black holes?”
“No, Alex is broadly studied, but I’m sure he
would be the first to point out that others have a greater depth of
knowledge.”
“Yet you seem to put some store in his
hypothesis?”
“Certainly. It’s his broad background and
cleverness at synthesizing that makes him such a valuable
contributor to our group.”
“In any case,” continued Isaacs, “if we must,
as you say, turn to others for expertise, that can be arranged.
With due regard to security, of course.”
Phillips nodded and took another sip from his
glass.
Isaacs put his glass down to take up another
of the items on his personal agenda. He leaned toward Phillips.
“Let me ask you, in your own mind, how do you balance the immediacy
of the problem against the lack of specific evidence?”
Phillips played his drink in a small circle,
watching the fluid coat the sides of the glass. “You’re concerned
about whether to recommend immediate presidential attention?”
“Yes.”
“Professor Runyan is more qualified than I to
discuss the particular parameters of the problem. I deduce,
however, that while we want to move with all dispatch, the
magnitude of the problem will not be seriously increased by failure
to take immediate action. We’re not faced with a situation where we
must invoke presidential authority to quickly resolve the
situation. On the contrary, I fear no such quick resolution will be
possible. I would sooner think that it’s a question of marshalling
resources over which the President has authority once we have some
notion how to proceed.”
Phillips swiveled in his chair and looked
distantly out the bay window.
“Our first priority is proof. We must be
satisfied beyond any doubt in our own minds.” He was almost
speaking to himself. “But I can foresee that an immense effort may
eventually be required that would be a severe tax on this nation’s
resources. How to proceed will be a decision that only the
President can make. Our choices will be radical surgery or the slow
death of the patient. Either way we would face a time of severe
trial.”
Phillips turned back to confront Isaacs. “If
we are really in the dangerous situation Dr. Runyan describes, it’s
not a concern only for our nation. The whole world is in peril. A
multinational approach to the problem may not only be proper, but
necessary. One must then consider the political situation. That’s
your province. Under what circumstances do you foresee taking this
problem before a world forum?”
Isaacs considered for a moment. There was an
important asymmetry in his relation with this sharp, inquisitive
old gentleman. Isaacs’ responsibility was to learn all that he
could about the current situation from Phillips and his colleagues.
But there were limits to which the converse was true. He thought
about Korolev and his interview with Zamyatin, but decided that
only some general reply was in order.
“You understand that this sort of decision is
out of my hands; it would be decided by the NSC. I have the same
reservations you do about prematurely bringing this problem to the
attention of the NSC and the President. Those reservations apply
doubly to communicating with our allies. We must be very sure of
our situation before spreading any possible alarm. I think we must
proceed very cautiously. If, as you say, there is little prospect
of immediate resolution by quick action, then we can afford to go
slowly and carefully.”
“I was thinking not only of our allies,” put
in Phillips. “From a scientific point of view, I have several
colleagues in the Soviet Union who would make valuable
consultants.”
Isaacs stared at Phillips a brief moment,
eyebrows raised. He could foresee a situation developing in which a
cooperative effort with the Soviets at some level would precede
notification of formal allies. He saw no point in raising this
possibility with Phillips at this early stage.
“I believe that’s out of the question just
now.”
Phillips pressed the issue.
“It may not be our prerogative to bring this
problem to the attention of others. Don’t the Soviets have the same
capability as we do to monitor seismic activity? Or perhaps even
the People’s Republic, where there is a long history of interest in
earthquakes and related phenomena. You mentioned this Russian
aircraft carrier. Should we not move as soon as is feasible to
forestall the possibility of further misinterpretation?”
Damn this sly old dog, Isaacs said to
himself. He was strongly tempted to tell Phillips the whole story
of Korolev and the Novorossiisk, but he thought of the uneasy truce
Drefke had forced between him and McMasters. He had no authority to
disclose the details of these geopolitically charged events. The
last thing he wanted to do was to open another procedural dispute
with McMasters. He was sensitive to the hypocrisy, but felt
compelled to head off this line of discussion.
“I’ve considered such questions, Professor
Phillips,” Isaacs replied, forcing a trace of coolness into his
voice. “I don’t believe we disagree in principle, but the issue of
when communication of intelligence to other countries becomes
feasible or desirable must be weighed most carefully. You surely
appreciate that such decisions cannot be made in the context of one
isolated set of events. All possible ramifications must be
considered simultaneously. The ultimate decision is not within your
province, nor even mine. I can assure you that the points you raise
will be given due consideration.”
“Please!” said Phillips raising a hand in
protest. “Don’t think I’m trying to dictate your actions in an area
outside my competence. It’s just that I can foresee yet other
situations developing that will prove difficult to contain. I’m
sure you and your organization are most competent to take
appropriate action.”
Both men lapsed into silence, consciously
attempting to quell the mood of confrontation that had threatened
to develop. They sipped their sherry quietly for a long moment,
each pursuing private thoughts.
Phillips stirred and proffered the decanter
once again. Isaacs smiled saying, “Just a little,” and then flashed
a halt sign as Phillips refilled his glass anyway. Isaacs followed
the neck of the decanter encased by Phillips’ deeply lined knuckles
as it tilted up from his glass, crossed to the other and dipped to
release more amber liquid. He spoke as Phillips carefully replaced
the stopper in the decanter.
“There is one more point.”
“Please.”
“You mentioned the question of hostility a
while ago, or lack thereof. There was some talk about the possible
origin of a black hole this afternoon. Runyan seemed to feel such a
thing must be artificially manufactured.”
Phillips’ eyes were half closed in
concentration, but he did not speak. Isaacs continued.